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CVE-2026-85501— Retrap: Novel Vulnerabilities to launch Algorithmic Complexity Attacks on DNSSEC

Quick assessment

Affected
NLnet Labs Unbound
Exploitation
No confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; assess based on exposure
Recommended action
Check the vendor advisory and references for a fixed version. If immediate upgrade is impossible, restrict exposure and increase monitoring.

Novel vulnerabilities to launch algorithmic complexity attacks on DNSSEC have been researched under the term 'ReTrap'. These result in degradation of service when malicious zones are used to serve the algorithmic complexity vulnerabilities. NLnet Labs Unbound

CVSS 5.3 · Medium
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I. Basic Information for CVE-2026-85501

Vulnerability Information
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Vulnerability Title
Retrap: Novel Vulnerabilities to launch Algorithmic Complexity Attacks on DNSSEC
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
Vulnerability Description
Novel vulnerabilities to launch algorithmic complexity attacks on DNSSEC have been researched under the term 'ReTrap'. These result in degradation of service when malicious zones are used to serve the algorithmic complexity vulnerabilities. NLnet Labs Unbound up to and including 1.26.0 is vulnerable to some of them. TagTrap, where the triple(Zone, Algo, KeyTag) matching mechanism introduces a significant attack vector when resolvers handle malicious responses containing numerous mismatched DNSKEY, RRSIG, and DS record. DelegationTrap, where constructing the chain-of-trust requires iterative validation of DNSKEY and DS records from the root zone downward. For deeply nested domains, this results in significant computational overhead. NsecTrap, where responses with excessive invalid NSEC records compel the resolver to validate each one. AdditionalTrap, where Unbound by default would try to DNSSEC validate the ADDITIONAL section as well. This can be exploited to waste validation resources by malicious users.
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
CVSS Information
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
Vulnerability Type
不加限制或调节的资源分配
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5

Affected Products

Vendor Product Affected Versions CPE Subscribe
NLnet Labs Unbound 0 ~ 1.26.1 -

II. Public POCs for CVE-2026-85501

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III. Intelligence Information for CVE-2026-85501

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Other References for CVE-2026-85501 (1)

Same Patch Batch · NLnet Labs · 2026-09-16 · 9 CVEs total

CVE-2026-81642 9.1 CRITICAL Heap buffer overflow and possible Remote Code Execution when digesting DNSKEY
CVE-2026-82717 8.4 HIGH CNAME synthesis could lead to heap corruption
CVE-2026-81634 7.5 HIGH Possible heap buffer overflow during DNSSEC canonicalization
CVE-2026-78227 6.5 MEDIUM Use-after-free in DoQ stream output buffer on reset re-transmission
CVE-2026-82720 5.9 MEDIUM Use-after-free in DoH stream cleanup code path
CVE-2026-80225 5.3 MEDIUM Possible degradation of service from continuous queries on the same TCP/DoT connection
CVE-2026-77955 4.4 MEDIUM Possible ZONEMD verification bypass window
CVE-2026-77860 3.7 LOW 'serve-expired' can bypass Unbound 'wait-limit'

IV. Related Vulnerabilities

Same product: Unbound
Same vendor: NLnet Labs
Same weakness: CWE-770

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